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The Best Part-Time Job in America

The fix is in. Did you know, Congress only works 33 percent of the year?

The base salary for all rank-and-file members of Congress is $174,000, more than triple the median household income of the United States. In exchange for that generous salary, members of Congress work one out of three days.

The House of Representatives was in session for only 18 hours a week in 2013. Members worked only 130 days in 2015. In case you needed more evidence that Congress doesn’t earn its salary, consider this: House and Senate members only worked eight days in April.

Eight work days in a month, with an annual salary of $174,000. Can you imagine? Must be nice!

Meanwhile, in the real world, the average American worker puts in more hours than a medieval peasant. Full-time U.S. employees use only 54 percent of their paid vacation days, sacrificing the rest for fear of falling behind or being replaced. The idea of a congressman skipping that much vacation is laughable, at best.

I was raised to believe that how people spend their time is a direct reflection of their priorities. The United States holds more than $19 trillion in debt, not including unfunded liabilities. Our health care, immigration, and justice systems are in desperate need of reform. Public schools are underperforming, while families and small businesses are being taxed out of financial security.

Where is our elected leadership? Clearly, they have other priorities.

Members of Congress spend most of their time in their districts, schmoozing with donors, speaking at private events, and securing their next elections. The average House member spent $53,170 of taxpayer money on travel in 2013.

These aren’t legislators, these are professional campaigners.

The American people aren’t being heard by government because the game is rigged. Washington isn’t broken. It’s “fixed.”

The fix is in. The U.S. military and law enforcement communities are overwhelmingly comprised of heroes, many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and safety. However, select individuals within these revered institutions have been taking advantage of the system in corrupt and ethically reprehensible ways.

The fix is in. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters has reinvented herself as a leading ethical watchdog of the Trump Administration. Surrounded by celebrities, she even received a standing ovation at the MTV Movie Awards while presenting the award for “Best Fight Against the System.” How quickly reputations can change.

The fix is in. Did you know, lobbyists in Washington, D.C. are already trying to influence key Republican lawmakers on tax reform? Corporate lobbyists know their special deals are on the chopping block, and the pressure is on.

The fix is in. Did you know, members of Congress can exclude themselves from federal laws they don’t want to follow? Taxpayers are forced to play by the rules, while lawmakers in Washington get a free pass.

Over the past several decades cars have become increasingly high tech allowing for computers to take larger roles in the routine functions of the car. Computerized functions have been a boon to consumers, who gain greater reliability and efficiently, but it has also increased the vulnerability to criminal hacking.

While the 115th Congress begins on January 3 at noon, President Barack Obama will continue to serve in the White House until January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The first 100 days of the incoming administration are expected to be incredibly busy. Obviously, the repeal of ObamaCare is at the top of the congressional to-do list, and action to begin this effort is expected to be immediate. Reining in the regulatory state is another item on which action is projected to be swift.